ROCKnVINO: A Pairing of Music & Wine

On this episode, Michelle and Coco talk with Alicia Sylvester, winemaker for Banshee Wines. Alicia shares her agricultural roots (pun intended) and how they led her to appreciate the work done by farmers across the country. After working on harvests around the globe, Alicia returned to California to work at Chateau Montelena and Sonoma Cutrer. In 2021 she took on the role of Winemaker at Banshee W...

During this episode of ROCK’nVINO hosts Michelle and Coco chat with Mark “Swany” Swanhart, the creator and director of  SAVOR After Hours  – a wine-tasting cabaret starring Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy from Dancing with the Stars at JaM Cellars Ballroom in Napa. The show feels like a rollercoaster that will dazzle your senses with exciting dance sequences, emotional music selections, incredible costu...

During this episode of ROCK'nVINO hosts Michelle and Coco chat with Little Saint's Executive Wine Director Alex Sarovich. Little Saint is a music venue/cafe/restaurant in Healdsburg with a 100% plant-based menu. Alex shares her road to Healdsburg and how she makes wine approachable for guests at  Little Saint . Whether you are stopping in for a creamy, decadent affogato (Michelle's recommendation!...

Coco and Michelle talk with Gerald “Gerry” Casale, co-founder of DEVO and proprietor of The 50 by 50 winery. Gerry talks about the foundation of the band DEVO and how it was connected to the horrific events at Kent State in 1970, when 4 of his fellow students were shot and killed by the National Guard. That event was a pivotal point in his life: it forced him to stay at the university instead of t...

Naomi McLeod is the owner of  Field Day CA , a pop-up community in Sonoma County featuring amazing wineries, chefs, and outdoor spaces. Naomi brings her retrofitted school bus to wineries, orchards, and open fields to stage various events, many of which feature a musical element. Michelle and Coco chat with Naomi about her background in the arts and how she uses her experience in event planning to...

In this episode we emphasize the ROCK part of the show during our chat with The Happys, a surf-rock tinged band based in San Francisco. Band members Nick, Alex, Brett and Eli chat with hosts Michelle and Coco while on the road between shows. We learn about their influences, how Nick works in his own struggles with mental health into his songwriting, upcoming free shows, and their guerilla marketin...

Patrick Davis is the founder of Songwriters in Paradise - a series of intimate songwriter showcases in the round where each songwriter shares the stories behind the songs, all paired with delicious food and wine. The SIP Napa event is April 19-22, 2023 at Frank Family Vineyards, Alpha Omega, Charles Krug, and Brasswood Napa Valley. Songwriters include Tim Nichols who co-wrote the massive hit "Live...

Chef Gray Rollin fed rock stars around the world, before launching his restaurant Belly Left Coast Kitchen and Taproom in Santa Rosa. Listen as we chat about his path to becoming a personal chef for Linkin Park, his stories of life on the road, his passion for learning more about the cultures around the world, and much more. 

In this episode we talk with Mitch Rice, winemaker at Mersenne Wines. This boutique winery chose French Renaissance monk Marin Mersenne as their namesake, to represent their approach to winemaking. Marin Mersenne discovered the formula to find Prime numbers (which is still used today!) and Mersenne Wines believes in finding the perfect, 'prime' fruit to make their wines. This Renaissance man was a...

Hosts Michelle and Coco talk with Sam Coturri, proprietor at Winery Sixteen 600 in Sonoma. Sam's father Phil Coturri is known as the hippie grandfather of organic grape growing and his legacy is now a multi-generational practice, producing unique and delicious wines. Phil was also tuned in to the San Francisco music scene and was very close to The Grateful Dead, and artist Stanley Mouse, who provi...

ROCKnVINO is BACK... and now we've also got a radio show! Tune in on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month for a new live episode at ksro.com !  For our introductory episode back, hosts Michelle and Coco invite Ross Cobb, owner and winemaker at Cobb Wines  to chat about wine and music. Ross has a deep connection to both music and wine, playing bass and collecting records since he was a boy. He wen...

Today we chatted with Jim Morris, VP of Guest Relations at Charles Krug Winery. He shares with us how they shifted their focus and persevered during the pandemic with virtual tastings, virtual comedy and many other creative and fun ideas. Now, as the world begins to reopen, they've partnered with The Blue Note in Napa on a series of outdoor concerts slated to begin in May. We're so excited to talk...

Today we chatted with Rene Byck, co-owner of Paradise Ridge Winery. A winery that has persevered after losing almost everything in the 2017 Kincade fire but has remained resilient with the reconstruction of their tasting room with stunning views, amazing wine and awe-inspiring art pieces. 

On today's episode we chat with Dan Kosta, founder and owner of AldenAlli Winery and former co-founder of Kosta Browne Winery which he and fellow co-founder Michael Browne started with money they made from tips from their restaurant job. Moving on to their own ventures Dan started AldenAlli alongside the Legasse family to get back to his roots of winemaking focusing on the Sonoma Coast. We chat an...

Today we chatted with Clark Smith, winemaker for Wine Smith wines and author of Post Modern Winemaking. He has been experimenting with how music affects your perception of the wine you are tasting for years and he walks us through an experiment he has done over a hundred times. It was fun and fascinating! 

On today's episode we chatted - IN PERSON - with Megan Cline of Cline Cellars, Jacuzzi Vineyards and Gust Wine. We chat about her growing up in a large Italian family, how distancing herself from her wine heritage brought her right back into it with passion and her most memorable concert... hint, there are shark and hamburger hats involved. If you know, you know. Check out this very fun episode wh...

Today we chat with rising country music star and foodie Kendal Conrad. We chat about blackberry wine, her time on-stage with Keith Urban, some of her favorite food dishes and about just how much she loves the snow and beer. We had a great time with her on this episode!

Today we are so excited to have Professor Charles Spence on the show. He is an experimental psychologist heading the Crossmodal Research group at Oxford University where he researches how your different senses affect the taste of your food and your drinks. Does the music you're listening to affect how what you're drinking or eating tastes? You bet it does! Tune in to hear more about his amazing ex...

We sit down with Jen Janet, vocalist and songwriter for Mimesis and Novarium as well as a wine blogger. We chat with her about how she started singing as a child found her love of rock music and discovered a love of wine. Novarium's cover of Type O Negative's "Christian Woman" is currently featured on Sirius XM's Liquid Metal.

As we continue to Shelter In Place, we're looking for more things to do and to watch. So why not watch amazing documentaries about food, wine and travel?! Well, lucky for all of us you can do that easily with Somm TV, created by Jason Wise. We chatted with Jason about the Somm movies that started him down this road, his background in underwater photography and how it all led him to create The Deli...

As we continue to Shelter In Place Jackson Family Wines is looking to brighten your day with their new delivery service via Your Wine Store. It's a new program they've recently launched where you have access to wines from their entire portfolio as well as curated cheese and charcuterie paired selections delivered right to your door. It's a great way to treat yourself while we're all stuck at home....

On this weeks SIP episode of Rock'n Vino, we get the band back together (Virtually) to chat about what an epic concert year that 2020 was set to be and how we're now dealing with the cancellations or postponements of some of these shows. We also make our best predictions as to what concerts will be like in the future and when we can enjoy concerts or any live music again. 

It's week two of socially-distanced Rock'N Vino and we welcome back friend of the podcast Chef Douglas Keane. The road ahead is unclear for the restaurant industry, we talk with Douglas about what the new reality is for restaurants, diners, and restaurants will have to change and adapt to survive. On the lighter side, we'll talk about chefs and winemakers taking their talents online for virtual pa...

In today's Social Distancing Episode of Rock'n Vino we chat with Sonoma Wine Executive Director, Michael Haney about how wineries are pivoting to meet their customers needs virtually via special shipment and wine specials, virtual cooking demonstrations paired with your favorite wine, virtual tastings and more. Sonoma Wine has created an excellent resource page on their website featuring all of th...

Today we chat with the lovely Jacqueline Balletto, DTC and Tasting Room Manager of Balletto Vineyards. She shares with us how she got into the family business, her other passions besides wine as well as some music that gets her fired up for the day!  Be sure to check out their amazing wines at  https://www.ballettovineyards.com/